hold the view that all philosophizing on life's purpose is ultimately founded upon two fundamental assumptions, or conclusions. The first is, Does God exist? and the second, If God exists, what is His character or nature?

Opinions are preferences amid options. Convictions are woven into one's conscience.

To allow God to be God we must follow him for who he is and what he intends, and not for what we want or what we prefer.

Unsuspecting people make a fatal mistake when they give their allegiance to a system of thought by focusing on its benefits while they ignore its systemic contradictions.

God has put enough into this world to make faith in Him a most reasonable thing. But He has left enough out to make it impossible to live by sheer reason alone. Faith and reason must always work together in that plausible blend.

Ask without pettiness Being before doing Convictions without compromise Discipline without dreariness Ask

God has disclosed himself in descriptive terms that give us enough information to be able to know who he is, and he has hidden enough of himself for us to learn the balance between faith and reason. No earthly relationship with an infinite, transcendent God can exist without maintaining these two aspects.

One of my favorite examples involves Dr. Peter Greenspan, a Jewish obstetrician-gynecologist who also teaches at a medical school. The more he read books by critics who were trying to attack the prophecies, the more he recognized the flaws in their arguments. Ironically, concluded Greenspan, "I think I actually came to faith in Y'shua [Jesus] by reading what detractors wrote."36

I often put it this way: God has put enough into this world to make faith in Him a most reasonable thing. But He has left enough out to make it impossible to live by sheer reason alone. Faith and reason must always work together in that plausible blend.

The gift of faith is precisely what makes it possible for us to accept that God works in His own way (which is not always our way), in His own time, and for His purpose.

True faith depends not only on God's power but also on His wisdom.

If the church didn't place true value on a person's questioning, then we were effectively absolving ourselves of any responsibility to that person.